‘Into the Fire' pulls no punches about war

“Into the Fire” is a blow-by-blow account of the battle of Ganjigal, for which Dakota Meyer won the Medal of Honor, but it is also a commentary on both the excitement and horror that is a soldier’s experience during wartime.

On Sept. 8, 2009, near the village of Ganjigal in Afghanistan, Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer learned that four of his fellow soldiers were missing after an ambush by insurgents. Disobeying orders, he charged in under enemy fire, found all four dead, and with the help of Afghani soldiers, retrieved the bodies, evacuated 12 wounded, and provided cover so another two dozen Marines could escape. As a result, Meyer became the first living U.S. Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor in nearly 40 years.

“Into the Fire” is a blow-by-blow account of the battle of Ganjigal, but it is also a commentary on both the excitement and horror that is a soldier's experience during wartime. Meyer's ambivalence about the war, about politics and about his place amid it all are evident. He provides a disturbing account of hand-to-hand combat that results in an insurgent's gruesome death. He laughs while being shot at, and he and his buddies intentionally move in the open to engage the insurgents. These are the sickening realities of war — the chaos, the madness, the death and stench of rotting corpses.

Like many recruits, Meyer joined the Marines both because he came from a soldier's lineage and because of the 3,000 lives lost on 9/11. He is an elite sniper, with a tattoo on his chest that says “your death is my life” in Latin. The Afghan war has made Meyer indifferent about death: “There's no sense obsessing about getting tagged. Either a bullet has your name on it or it doesn't. No need for philosophizing.”

The disastrous battle at Ganjigal is described in excruciating, mesmerizing detail, but some of the battlefield dialogue is hard to decipher: “I could clear misfires, coax malfunctioning breeches ... I had walked fire onto targets.” What does become clear as the story unfolds is that bad decisions were made from the rear echelon that did not give soldiers the support they needed. Meyer is understandably bitter and angry about the deaths of his friends, and he has no love for the higher-ups making decisions for soldiers in battle.

Upon returning home, Meyer drinks himself to sleep to combat PTSD. He sometimes blames himself for the deaths of his friends. He attempts suicide, but the gun he puts to his head had been unloaded by an unidentified friend. Knowing he is to receive the Medal of Honor from President Obama, he is unsure what to make of it all: “My country was recognizing me for being a failure and for the worst day of my life.” Ultimately he accepts the award, even having a beer with the president the day before.

“Into the Fire” captures the paradoxes of war — the horror, the failed strategies, and the bravery of soldiers who ultimately fight not for their country, but for their friends.

Mark Stoeltje is a San Antonio writer and executive director of the Clubhouse, a nonprofit center serving adults with severe mental illness. Reach him at mark1053@gmail.com.